HCM City’s District 1 authorities ordered construction of a 40-storey building to stop after evidence that it caused collapse of two houses and damaged eight others.
Nguyen The Dinh, chairman of the district People’s Committee, said, “The construction will be allowed to continue when the investor and the builder solve the problems and prove they meet safety requirements.”
Construction of the Saigon M&C building that will have 40 floors and five basement floors began in 2008 by French builder Bouygues Batiment.
The two houses collapsed and eight others had their walls collapsed on Ham Nghi Street on Sunday night in HCM City’s District 1. No one was injured.
Witnesses said they heard a vibrating sound at 10:22pm following which the land beneath the house at number 3 sunk, causing it and the neighbouring house at number 5 to collapse. Some adjacent buildings were damaged. There is a large crater at the site now filled with water.
Nguyen Xuan Hieu, a resident of number 5, said most of the people in the house had already moved out several days prior, as they feared it could collapse.
Luu Van Minh Hoang, a resident of number 11, said: “I felt the house shake and then heard the blast, and ran out with 20 others before a wall felt.”
About 100 people, who were at home in the houses at the time of the accident, had a fortunate escape.
Last week the builder had negotiated with the residents in houses numbered 3 to 21 on the street because they had complained about cracking walls. The builders had said they would pay to move them somewhere safer, but had not agreed on anything by Sunday.
City People’s Committee deputy chairman Nguyen Trung Tin arrived at the site on Sunday night to oversee rescue operations./.
Nguyen The Dinh, chairman of the district People’s Committee, said, “The construction will be allowed to continue when the investor and the builder solve the problems and prove they meet safety requirements.”
Construction of the Saigon M&C building that will have 40 floors and five basement floors began in 2008 by French builder Bouygues Batiment.
The two houses collapsed and eight others had their walls collapsed on Ham Nghi Street on Sunday night in HCM City’s District 1. No one was injured.
Witnesses said they heard a vibrating sound at 10:22pm following which the land beneath the house at number 3 sunk, causing it and the neighbouring house at number 5 to collapse. Some adjacent buildings were damaged. There is a large crater at the site now filled with water.
Nguyen Xuan Hieu, a resident of number 5, said most of the people in the house had already moved out several days prior, as they feared it could collapse.
Luu Van Minh Hoang, a resident of number 11, said: “I felt the house shake and then heard the blast, and ran out with 20 others before a wall felt.”
About 100 people, who were at home in the houses at the time of the accident, had a fortunate escape.
Last week the builder had negotiated with the residents in houses numbered 3 to 21 on the street because they had complained about cracking walls. The builders had said they would pay to move them somewhere safer, but had not agreed on anything by Sunday.
City People’s Committee deputy chairman Nguyen Trung Tin arrived at the site on Sunday night to oversee rescue operations./.
